I found the discussion very interesting. I'm a retired Ford guy that did the original dyno tests on both methanol and ethanol. I worked in the program from 'cradle to grave'. Material selection is critical. To do a conversion to alcohol on an existing system would be tough. Early on we found that alcohol is a great solvent. All the old dried fuel residue, gum, and stains will get loosened up and be part of your fuel and fuel system. If you have an 'in tank' pump the fuel filter sock may get clogged...or start to melt/disolve. The Holley pumps we used (red) would work for awhile before they started leaking or the gasket would swell and deteriorate and stop the pump altogether. Unless your mechanical or electric fuel pump has alcohol friendly components it's going to leak. The fuel filter also has to be compatible otherwise the adhesives used to hold the element together will come apart and clog the filter. I could go on forever. Bottom line...everything in the system has to have the right materials from where it is picked up in the tank to where it gets metered into the intake system. We learned to use a lot of stainless steel fuel lines and teflon tubing along with some of the nylons. Nylon # 10 & 11 if I remember correctly. To get the full benefit from the alcohol fuels you have to flow about twice as much. Unless you have access to a carb flow stand you could work forever trying to get the optimum fuel/air ratio for the best performance. But once you do you've hit the jackpot. Your best bet is to get as much info on what works from the experts. Barry Grant fuel systems comes immediately to mind. I've seen Pro Form E-85 carbs for sale. For the guy on the street to convert to E-85 it can probably get pretty frustrating chasing all the new problems that arise. Once you get past all that and become comfortable with it, you won't care much for gasoline. Why do you think so many of the sanctioning bodies run on alcohol or have various alcohol classes. It beats the heck out of NOS. You don't have the distribution issues and your engine will run cooler. You're also a lot less detonation prone. Know anyone that runs NOS that doesn't eventually melt his engine down?? I'm building a 416 stroker for my 68 Barracuda S/SA clone. Ported W2's and a 950 Holley on methanol. A little trivia: Do you know why the alcohol fuels usually have 15% gasoline? Ans. So in case there is a fire the flame would be visible. An alcohol fire in bright sunlight is almost invisble. The heat waves are the only give away. Well...that's all folks! School is out. I'll try to answer any questions you might have. Thanks for putting up with me.
